There is NO excuse for this. None. Nothing that the daycare could come up with would excuse them. The daycare owners should be tried as accessories.
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Mother of Daycare Rapist Victim Speaks Out: 'You Don't Think a Woman Is Going to Do Something Like This'
staff@people.com (Chris Harris),People 39 minutes agoThe Thursday before last, 27-year-old Heather Koon appeared in an Ohio courtroom and admitted to raping four toddlers more than three years ago while employed by an Elyria daycare center. She faces 15 years to life in prison when sentenced in September.
In an interview on Thursday, the mother of one of Koon's four young victims tells PEOPLE she is hoping for the latter.
"I want them to give her the max," explains the mother, who spoke with PEOPLE on condition of anonymity. "The judge has the opportunity to impose life without parole and should, because I believe she deserves every single day of that sentence."
After initially denying any wrongdoing, Koon ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of rape.
She also pleaded guilty to four counts of kidnapping, another four for pandering obscenity involving a minor, three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and one count each of tampering with evidence and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
A trio of civil lawsuits filed by the families of Koon's victims is still pending. The suits also name Koon's onetime employer, ABC Kidz Child Care. ABC Kidz Child Care declined PEOPLE's request for comment.
In addition to abusing the children left in her care, Koon took obscene photos of them.
Koon's defense attorney Daniel Wightman tells PEOPLE his client's actions were driven by the demands of her fiancé, convicted sex offender James Osborne.
During a separate court appearance, Osborne pleaded guilty to four counts of complicity to rape, complicity to kidnapping and pandering obscenity involving a minor, a Loraine County Court official confirms to PEOPLE. He also pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, failure to register as a sex offender and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, the official confirms.
Wightman says that Koon regrets her crimes – but the victim's mother isn't buying it.
"I feel no remorse from her and I'm glad we don't have to go through a trial," the mother says. "I'm glad she didn't drag it out with a trial, because she obviously knew it wasn't going to work out for her."
The mom tells PEOPLE she's anxious for the sentencing so her daughter and her family "can finally put this all behind us and move on a little bit. I'm glad she won't be able to victimize anyone else."
The victim's mother says she never imagined she'd be putting her daughter in harm's way by enrolling her in daycare.
"To a certain degree, you completely trust these people to do the same job you are doing," the mother explains. "When working with all-female childcare givers, your expectation is that this won't happen. You don't think a woman is going to do something like this."
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